Starlight
by d.funnie
Summary: An unsavory confrontation with Ayaka leaves Asuna to fend for herself against the tumultuous storm of emotions that rage through her.


This is a project of mine from a few months ago. In truth it's only the partially-finished third draft, but when I came back to it the other day there's just too much Id like to change that it really will take a complete rewrite to fix everything. I've got a few other things to finish beforehand, so since this is pretty much on hold for another few weeks/months, I figured I'd toss this out.

Enjoy!

STARLIGHT

There wasn't a cloud in the sky as night descended, pushing the last vestiges of the sun's rays over the horizon so that they were hidden by the mountainous terrain of Japan's interior. The sky was bathed in a mesh of the passed day's warm yellows and the impending night's chilling blues, a sea of radiant stars lying just beyond the contrast. It wasn't until temperatures dropped that life in the bustling city slowed to a crawl and the first signs of imperfection made themselves known to all that looked to the evening sky.

The first star pierced the dark blanket of night with a dazzlingly intense light and, being dead center in the sky, caught the attention and interest of those looking to the Heavens. While to most it was but a simple star, nothing special despite it being the first of the night, to one dejected young girl it was a ray of hope breaking through the seemingly impenetrable fog of gloom and misery that had been clouding her thoughts since the early afternoon.

So she found herself sitting in a wooden chair in front of a window, her view unobstructed by the white curtains that were tied neatly to either side of the glass. The expression on her face was one of great anguish, her tousled red hair falling across her back with some of it affixed to her cheeks by the tears she had shed all afternoon. As such, her eyes were swollen and sparkled brightly; even more so than the dull light that they reflected. But there was also a less noticeable undertone to her countenance that kept her gaze sharp as it swept beyond the window and across the night sky in search of… something. When that first star began to shine in stark contrast to the dark backdrop of the night sky she was quick to spot it. Joy that her search had come to a lucrative end was eclipsed by a sudden urge for intimacy. Swallowing past the nostalgia so strong it all but materialized into a physical pain, she wet her lips and took a deep, fortifying breath, preparing to murmur the rhyme her parents had taught her as a child. As ready as she would ever be, Asuna found herself begin to speak:

_Starlight, star bright,_

_First star I see tonight,_

_I wish I may, I wish I might,_

_Have the wish I wish tonight_

"I wish for…"

LINE BREAK

In the class of thirty-one girls, only one stood while the rest listened out of boredom, feigning interest to please the teacher. The student in the spotlight was brown-haired Kazumi Asakura, who was translating a page from her textbook, _Neo Horizon_, aloud, and reading it well from behind her oval-shaped glasses. Figuring she needed less practice than some of the others, Takahata let her finish off the paragraph and asked her to sit down. Then he scanned across the faces in the class until he reached the back of one of their heads. It was Asuna Kagurazaka—student number eight, and one of his worse pupils, struggling to pass not only his class, English, but all of her classes.

"Asuna-san?" Startled, she snapped to attention immediately, swinging her head in his direction, her face lighting up along the way. She wore a large smile by the time she fully faced her teacher; whether out of joy or to make it appear as if she had been paying attention, Takahata did not know. "Why don't you continue where Kazumi-san left off."

"Of course, Takahata-sensei!" she replied merrily, hopping out of her chair and onto her feet. Her straight hair shone brightly in the ample amount of early afternoon sunlight streaming in through the windows, sliding down her back and pooling at the back of her chair. A few strands of it fell from their otherwise uniformed hairstyle as she examined the page quickly and briefly before realizing she had no idea where her fellow classmate had left off. "Uhm… Where are we?" A few girls across the room giggled to themselves, most notably Ayaka Yukihiro, a rival of Asuna's, who more than went out of her way to make her voice heard above the others.

"Page 127." Takahata was ready with the answer before he even spoke up to Asuna. When one was a teacher for as long as he had been, you heard every question, had every answer prepared, and could even tell when to prepare what answers before the question was even asked. "Near the bottom," he added, noticing the look of bewilderment that creased her young, smooth face.

She made a sound of acknowledgement as her eyes fell down the page until they spotted familiar material. She looked over the first sentence a few times, though not to make her verbal reading any easier; rather, to attempt to understand what it was that she had to translate. She didn't do well in any of her classes, much less English—a foreign language that was very different from her native Japanese. Learning took a lot of time and hard work for Asuna and she hardly had the patience to put up with the long hours and slow progress, so she ignored it all together, getting by on what little she learned during class and whatever else she could draw from her homework.

"Asuna-san?" It was Takahata. He was standing right next to her looking at her with a concerned gaze, his head so far above her own that she had to tip her head back just to meet his eyes. "You can translate that passage, can you not?" Asuna could feel the heat creeping up her face and knew that by now her cheeks were stained by a rosy red blush.

As she opened her mouth to reply the bell rang, shattering the void left by her teacher and sending the class into a flurry of pandemonium. Chairs scraped against the floor as her peers shot up from their seats, glad that class was over. The voices of nearly every student in the class roared into action, breaking away from the murmurs they maintained only moments prior.

Asuna spun away from Takahata, too embarrassed to look at him, only to face her childhood enemy Ayaka, sitting down peacefully and wearing a wicked grin across her smooth features. Why they were such bitter enemies, Asuna had forgotten, but she knew that every expression Ayaka wore across her disgustingly beautiful face, every expertly sung word that came from her full lips, and even the way she walked—elegantly and without flaw—all made Asuna's blood boil and toes curl.

Like existence, her hate for Ayaka just was.

"You looked ready to tackle that passage head-on, Asuna-san," she said smugly. "Why didn't you?" Asuna answered with silence. "A question is meant to be answered, Asuna-san. It's very unladylike to leave me hanging like this."

Asuna smiled. "You shouldn't be giving me tips on how to be a lady." She pointed between Ayaka's skirt-laden legs and, with a wink, continued: "Nice panties."

Ayaka flushed a deep scarlet and shut her legs tightly, the depth of her embarrassment only matched by the ferocity of her anger.

"Asuna…" Takahata warned, standing behind her with a look of disapproval clearly contorting his face. Asuna had forgotten he was behind her, but she hardly took notice, tuning out to whatever it was that he had to say.

Ignoring him, Asuna continued. "I didn't think pink was your color."

Takahata stepped out from behind Asuna and planted himself between the two girls. "That's quite enough." He cast a disappointed glance at Asuna, who, still reveling in the success of her retort, wasn't fazed by her teacher's look.

Ayaka's blood boiled.

"Girls, if there's a problem here I would be more than happy enough to provide a solution," Takahata said. "Unless, of course, you two can cooperate and solve this issue without me having to intervene any further." He gave them a meaningful look; one saying "Another word and it's to the principal's office with the both of you." Asuna looked at the floor, shuffled her feet.

Ayaka's temper flared.

The throng that had previously flooded toward the door slowed to a stop, listening to the disturbance created by their two classmates.

"Which will it be?"

Mustering all her resolve in an attempt to save her dignity, she looked up and shrugged, trying her best to appear non-chalant. "I've said everything I needed to." Then, as casually as she could, willing herself not to fall apart in front of the stagnant crowd, she turned on her heel and crossed over to the door.

Ayaka saw red.

Unable to control herself, a carnal urge for vengeance taking control of her mind, she went on the offensive; a choice she would soon lament. Not even her most hated enemies ever saw the end of the blade she unsheathed and turned on Asuna.

The stab: "At least I have someone to teach me how to be a lady!"

The twist: "And I think my mom did a pretty damn good job!"

Just as quickly as it had overtaken her senses, Ayaka's sudden burst of fiery anger left her body, leaving her with the regret of her words as the weight of what she said registered in her mind.

The classroom was silent, as was its occupants. At center stage under the spotlight was Asuna, weak-kneed and red-faced. Tears had already begun to spill, staining her cheeks—red and seemingly aflame—with the stowed away pain and anguish brought to the surface by the truth in Ayaka's words. The pain was so great that it manifested itself into a physical form, tearing at her limbs, chest, and even heart. Doubling over in pain, Asuna ran out of the room.

Left in her wake was an ashamed and guilt-ridden Ayaka.

LINE BREAK

"… someone to love and… and to love me back… and nothing would interfere with it. Not money or… or possessions or jobs or… and… I'd always love them and they'd always love me, and that would never change. Like… like true love; like the way it's supposed to be. Someone to… to share a bed with. I've been on my own for so long that I… I can't stand it anymore! I need a… a…"

The figure that had been watching Asuna emerged from the shadows.

"A crutch?"

Startled, the emotional breakdown she was about to fall prey to momentarily forgotten, Asuna's hands instinctively shot up and clutched her throat, as if they could protect her from what her mind told her was an intruder. It only took her a moment after swinging her head in the direction of the voice for her to realize who had startled her. The hair that cascaded down the figure's back like a black river dried up before reaching her waist, and the look of perpetual curiosity and innocence in her large, brown eyes—the portals to the soul of a child far younger than her fourteen year-old body portrayed—were all definitive features of her best friend and roommate, Konoka Konoe.

"H-how long have you been there?" she stuttered, wiping her eyes on her sleeves, trying desperately to erase any evidence that she had been crying, even though no amount of rubbing would conceal her puffy eyes. The words slipped out of her mouth easily despite the unlikely circumstances.

"Long enough," Konoko replied, giggling at how corny a cliché she had used to answer a question just as generic. "Is there something you want to talk about or get off your chest?"

"N… No!" The tone of her voice was desperate and she knew the other girl could hear it. She took a moment to catch her breath, slow her runaway heart, and find her voice before finishing her statement. "Of course not!"

"Okay," Konoko said with a slight, knowing nod. She casually walked towards Asuna, passing her by and sitting on the lower mattress of their bunk bed, humming all the while. Falling onto her back she stopped humming, letting the silence between them stretch uncomfortably long. Though her eyes focused on the patterns of grain in the wood that held up the top bunk's mattress, she could see Asuna shifting in her chair awkwardly, possibly trying to give her mind something to focus on. Anything but the question at hand.

But it couldn't be avoided so easily.

"It's just what Ayaka said earlier," she started, getting up from her chair and sitting on the bed next to her friend. Her eyes, shimmering with unshed tears, and voice, wavering slightly as she began losing control over her emotions and showing her forlorn mood, betrayed her attempt at appearing under control.

Konoka swung her arms forward, helping herself into a sitting position. She turned to look at Asuna and smiled knowingly. "You can cry," she crooned. That's all Asuna needed to hear. She dove for Konoka, burying her head in her best friend's shoulder, staining it with newly shed tears, her shoulders quaking with the force of her sobbing. The younger girl simply cradled her troubled friend, stroking her hair soothingly but not speaking.

Even after the crying that shook Asuna's entire body had dissolved to quiet mewls of despair, Konoka said nothing, knowing that attempting to force information of any kind from Asuna in a situation such as this would end in failure. If she continued to stay silent then everything would unravel.

She remained reticent.

Asuna's voice pierced the air once more. She did little more than whisper, not having the energy to speak with anywhere near her usual tone. Konoka heard her despite the rustling of leaves as the wind snaking its way through the trees and streets below. Her crying had sapped her of all her strength, leaving her vulnerable, protected only by the arms of her friend.

"I've lived on my own for nearly ten years. I've had to fight off the bullies at school by myself when I was younger, the come-ons from guys before transferring to this all-girls school. I've never had a real Christmas with a real family, and I've never had anyone to even give presents to. Those are my demons; the ones I've had to fight off by myself since my childhood because I've had no one to turn to or to help me. It's hard enough to just struggle through each and every night. I don't need anyone reminding me that I'm struggling alone…"

Konoka listened patiently.

"Like her mother even taught her such stuff! They're too rich to give a damn about their own, so she's obviously lying! She lost her brother. She knows how I feel. She knows that hitting there, whether or not it was even true, would hurt me because she has felt that very same pain before! I don't know what would be worse: had she told the truth, or that she lied in a fashion she knew would hurt me. Sometimes I wonder… How I ever could have… Befriended… her…"

"Everyone makes mistakes," Konoka said. "You just have to forgive the bad ones."

Konoka pushed Asuna away from her slightly and, still holding her by the shoulders, laid her down on the bed, arranging her into a position on her back and then pulling the covers over her.

"Good night."

LINE BREAK

Asuna stirred gently, her eyes fluttering a moment before she completely opened them, taking in the darkness engulfing the entire room. She felt rested, which was odd because she was usually pretty tired when she awoke in the morning for her job, much less in the middle of the night.

But what had stirred her in the first place? She couldn't recall hearing anything shatter or any other strange sound. She couldn't hear anything then. She looked around the room anyway, her eyes having adjusted to the lack of light quickly.

Directly to her right were two desks accompanied by chairs, with a television sitting on a lower table between the two. There was an assortment of paper, books, and supplies—namely pens and pencils, a purse, some framed photographs—on top of the two desks, though she only recognized them because she had lived in the dorm room for so long.

In the middle of the room was a glass table, its metal stand visible through the clear top. It sat halfway between the desks and the bean-bag chairs that lay against the wall on the far left of the room, opposite the television.

It wasn't until she had finished surveying the room that she felt something pressing against her side.

Uncharacteristically calm, Asuna rolled to her right and sat up so that she could get a look at whatever it was that was in her bed.

It turned out to be Negi.

Almost ten years old, he was some sort of magician, or wizard, or some being with special powers, or at least the ability to blow off Asuna's clothes at the most inopportune times. She still wasn't quite sure exactly what he was or why he, as young as he was, taught her eighth grade English class. He was a few inches shorter than her, four years her junior, and, again, not even ten. Whether it was Asuna's short temper or Negi being as accident-prone as he was, they didn't get along very well most of the time.

Most of the time.

Despite his short-comings and flaws, there was something about him that appealed to Asuna. She wasn't thrilled by the situations they got caught in together; especially those Ayaka stumbled upon. But the idea that she was with someone, which was conveyed to most of her class when they were caught in the hallway with their faces within an inch of one another, was refreshing. She had fallen for a few guys over the years—most notably one of her teachers—but they were over before they started. Her tough exterior did little to help her when it came to showing her true feelings for someone.

Staring down at him as he slept, he looked even younger than he did during the day. His face was calm, his breathing measured, and his foot, at the end of the bed, was wrapped not by a blanket but her pants. Asuna blushed, her legs exposed, not even covered by her blanket which had dropped off the side of her bed at one point during the night.

She tore her gaze away from Negi, hard as it was. Even sleeping he had a magic effect on her, hypnotizing her as she gazed at him, seeing youth incarnate; the innocent face of a child much younger than he acted.

Reaching down towards her feet she tried her best not to shift her weight too much. Even though it was the middle of the night she didn't want to risk waking him up.

Then her alarm went off.

It was 5 AM.

Negi awoke with a start.

"Si… sister?" Negi mumbled, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. Asuna was at a loss for words. That one word had opened up a series of questions Asuna had a sudden urge to ask. Who was this sister of his? Were they close? Was she even alive? But this wasn't the time to ask those, the two of them lying next to one another in bed and her having only a few minutes to get ready before her morning paper route.

Mind flooded with too much information for her to form a reasonable response, she screamed.

The words came back to her. "What are you doing in my bed!" she yelled. While she did raise her voice, the anger she attempted to portray sounded force. In truth, it was.

Negi was wide awake at this point, staring at her lap, stuttering to say something.

"Y-y-y-your… p-pants!" he finally managed. Asuna stared at him blankly for a moment before remembering. Heat flooded her face as she grabbed hold of her pants and tore them upwards, words once again failing her.

By this time he was looking her in the eyes. The embarrassment of what had just transpired was too much for Asuna, and he just stared at the wall behind him for a moment, her own thoughts drowning out everything else.

But her alarm, persistent as it was, demanded her attention. She jumped off her bed, the top bunk above Konoka's, yelling obscenities all the while.

As they continued to argue, Konoka slowly arose from her bed, having been awakened only after the loud bickering had gone on for a few minutes; almost as long as the alarm had. She made the most of her nights, falling asleep the moment her head hit the pillow and waking up at 5 o'clock in the morning to the liberal amount of noise made by Asuna getting out of bed and readying herself for her job of delivering the morning paper. All the time in between she spent enjoying a deep sleep, giving her the energy she needed to sustain a happy demeanor for the rest of the day. It was very rare that she was forced to wake during that time, save for situations such as this when an immense amount of commotion was made. By the time she was fully alert and could understand the already near-incomprehensible fight going on, Asuna was already out of bed and dressed, though she did so hurriedly because she was already running late.

Finished dressing and considering her argument with Negi over, Asuna ran out of the room.

A moment later: "Wait!"

Asuna turned around to see Konoka standing in the doorway to their dorm room. She jogged over, being slowed down by the sleep that all but consumed her and the fact that she was still in her pajamas.

"What is it, Konoka?" Asuna asked when the other girl reached her. After taking a moment to catch her breath—which surprised Asuna, given that she herself had grown quite adept at running after a year's worth of sprinting to first period with her friend—she answered.

"What was all the fighting about?"

"Oh, did we wake you up?" Konoka nodded. "I'm sorry! It's just that Negi slept in my bed again. He's annoying enough by himself, but for him to keep crawling into my bed in the middle of the night—" Konoka interrupted her.

"That reminds me," she began. Asuna blinked, confused at why Konoka, usually so quiet and reserved, would interrupt her, especially about something so mundane. "About your wish upon a star…"

Asuna recalled the wish, though she tried her best not to because of that day's events that led up to it.

"You wanted someone to share your bed with, remember? And I think—"

"I know where you're going with this!" Asuna said. "Just don't!"

"Where am I going with this, Asuna?" Konoka asked, amused.

"You think that I like him in a romantic way, when the truth of the matter is that I can barely tolerate him. Calling him a friend would be a stretch, and boyfriend would be just plain insulting. But you already knew that, so stop playing the fool," Asuna added, though she was more tired than angry.

"You have to admit that he's kind of cute," Konoka said with a wink and a giggle.

"Oh, come off it! Now I'm late as it is, so I'm going. See ya."

She spun on her heel and left without another word.

Konoka smiled. "How cute. She's afraid of love."


End file.
